''Jingle Cats'' and its follow-up ''Jingle Dogs'' are a series of

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novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

albums from producer Mike Spalla. A third series was released in 1997 titled ''Jingle Babies''. ''Jingle Cats'' and ''Jingle Dogs'' were released as albums and videos. A 1998 video game of ''Jingle Cats'' was released in Japan.

Releases

The songs are created by Spalla who mixes actual animal sounds to match tones of the songs. He started with a version of "

Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont. It is an unsettled question where and when Pierpont originally composed the song that would become known as "Jingle Bells". It ...

" that was released to radio stations a few years before the full album came out. In all, it took more than 1,000 meows, screeches and growls to assemble 20

melodies A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term ca ...

.Wharton, David (1993)
"It's the Cats' Meows."
''Los Angeles Times''. 1(3). ''Meowy Christmas'' was released on CD and cassette in 1993 to wide United States media coverage within its first week. The album reached number 86 on a ''Billboard'' chart and was sold out a week before Christmas. The following year, ''Meowy Christmas'' was placed on the ''Billboard'' top 10 catalog album chart. The second album, ''Here Comes Santa Claws'', was released in 1994 with "3,000 brand new meows and new arrangements". ''Here Comes Santa Claws'' starred Spalla's cats Sprocket, Twizzler, Binky, Cheese Puff, Clara, Cueball, Graymer, Max, and Petunia. Spalla played the accordion and the background music was from his dog, Klippy Kloppy. Its success resulted in a national tour and live television appearances. A spin-off series starring Jingle Dogs was released on September 11, 1995, titled ''Christmas Unleashed''. On October 23, 1995, a VHS was released that features the Jingle Cats singing and dancing. Jingle Dogs received a VHS release in 1996 alongside a Jingle Cats VHS. The Jingle Cats album ''Rhythm and Mews'' was released in 2002. The Jingle Dogs CD ''Puppy Holidays'' was released in 2008. In 2009, the album ''First Meowel'' was released on

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as well as the official website and starred the cats Messifur, Jumper, Ally, and Christmas Tree Face with dog noises in the background. In 2008, ''Jingle Cats Christmas'' was released on DVD with songs from the Jingle Cats and the Jingle Dogs."Meowy Christmas." Science Letter, November 18, 2008, 3756. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed November 18, 2021)

Merchandise

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

catalog sold Jingle Cats t-shirts, buttons, and stickers.

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signed a four-year contract to sell Jingle Cats singing cards in 2008 and over 125,000 cards sold within the first three months. The song "Jingle Cats Medley" played in the film ''

Fred Claus ''Fred Claus'' is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman from a story by Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, John Michael Higgins, Eliz ...

''. A 1998 video game was released for Mac, Windows and the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

in Japan titled . The player is given the task of taking care of the Jingle Cats by interacting with them in various ways, having to fill up a "love-o-meter" before time runs out. Writing for

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Blake Butler John David Blake Butler (22 October 1924 – 15 April 1981) was an English actor best known for his role as the lecherous chief librarian Mr. Wainwright during the first and third series of ''Last of the Summer Wine'' in 1973 and 1976 respect ...

notes that "the object is to breed and care for cats, which begin to sing when they're done copulating". The video game was not released internationally.

Reception

In 1995, ''Here Comes Santa Claws'' won a Billie Award from ''Billboard'' for point-of-purchase category. David Wharton of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' said, "Yet for every person who listens to 'Jingle Cats' and hears only screeching, there are cat lovers who hear a symphony." After following up what ''Billboard'' called "excellent" ''Jingle Cats'' and ''Jingle Dogs'' albums, Spalla produced a ''Jingle Babies'' album for which ''Billboard'' described the series as having hit a "brick wall". Ashley Naftule of ''

Phoenix New Times ''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''Phoenix'' ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, arts, cannabis, as well as longform narrative journalism. A ...

'' reviewed ''Jingle Cats'' and said, "Don't be fooled by its kitschy name: A more accurate title for the project would be The Wretched Mewling Of The Damned." Blake Butler wrote a review of the Jingle Babies release ''Rockabye Christmas'' in ''

'' saying, "I imagine these boggled carols funneled loudly into malls, sending people running from the Gap and Sharper Image back to hide inside their homes, to wrap the roof with enough colored light to keep the dark out, fearing what other kind of man might slide down the chimney."

In popular culture

In the

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's annual "Jingle Jam" charity livestream, the hosts traditionally watch Jingle Cats on

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as the first segment every 1 December. Since 2017, they have invited fans to submit their own Jingle Cats videos.

References

External links